What made me think I could knit a sweater? I can't even make sense of the first direction! It says: Cast on 78 sts using size 6 needles. ( Do I do a cable cast on?)
Work 2 rows in st st beg with a K row ( This part I get). Now for the part I don't understand:
Inc 1 st at each end of next row and 10 foll 4th row (100 sts)
Work 7 rows in st st ending with a WS row. 50 rows worked.
Could someone please translate that into English? Also...what kind of increase am I supposed to be doing? Thanks in advance, especially since I already bought the yarn! Sally

knitqueen

09-04-2006 10:30 PM

Re: Lost at the Beginning of a Pattern!!!

For the cast on, I always do a long-tail cast on. I have not found anything that didn't work with that kind of cast on so I use it for all of my projects.

Now about the increases. A good basic increase is to knit into front and back of the stitch. If you are unfamiliar on how to do that, take a look at the 'Abbreviations Explained' tab at the top of this page and you will find a video demonstrating how to do it. It's a good, all-purpose increase that is easy to learn. And this part of the instruction....

Inc 1 st at each end of next row and 10 foll 4th row (100 sts)
Work 7 rows in st st ending with a WS row. 50 rows worked.

Let's say the first row that you are going to be doing increases on is called row 1. What it is asking you to do is increase 1 stitch at the beginning and the end of row 1, and every following 4th row, 10 times. So in other words, increase at beginning and end of rows 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37, 41. A good tip for placing increases at the beginnings and ends of rows is this....at the beginning of the row, work the first stitch normally and make the increase in the second stitch, then at the end of the row, work to 2 stitches left, work the increase into the second to last stitch and then knit the last stitch normally. This just makes things easier for seaming if the increases aren't right at the edge of the work.

After this, work 7 rows in stockinette stitch. Your first stockinette row following the above increases will be on a wrong side row (purl row). So you will work
purl row
knit row
purl row
knit row
purl row
knit row
purl row

Hope this helps.

sjr

09-05-2006 07:02 AM

Lost in Pattern

Thanks so much, Knitqueen! Can you decode the next part for me, assuming I actually get past the first part?
Shape armholes:
Cast off 4 sts at beg next 2 rows
Dec 1 st at each end of next 7 rows and 5 foll alt rows (68)
Cont without shaping until work measures 20 cm(oh my! centimeters?) from beg armhole shaping ending with a WS row.
I am making "Cherry" by Kim Hargreaves....a kind of ballerina wrap! Thanks again. Sally

sjr

09-05-2006 10:12 PM

Lost in beginning of pattern

Is the increase you are talking about also referred to as a bar increase? Does this prevent slanting in one direction or the other? Thanks!

knitqueen

09-05-2006 10:36 PM

Re: Lost in Pattern

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjr

Shape armholes:
Cast off 4 sts at beg next 2 rows
Dec 1 st at each end of next 7 rows and 5 foll alt rows ( 68 )
Cont without shaping until work measures 20 cm(oh my! centimeters?) from beg armhole shaping ending with a WS row.

First of all, the kfb is also called a bar increase, and it does not lean right or left. Also, sorry, I didn't see your additional questions until just now. I'll try to help you out with the shape armholes part now. How did the rest of it go??

Cast off 4 stitches at the beginning of next two rows. If you are unfamiliar with how to cast off, there are videos here. If you are casting off (also known as binding off) stitches on a right side row (knit row) you will use the basic knit bind-off, and if you are casting off on the wrong side row you will use the basic purl bind-off.

Dec 1 st at each end of next 7 rows and 5 foll alt rows ( 68 )

Decrease 1 stitch at end end of next 7 rows, you can decrease using K2tog on the right side rows and P2tog on the wrong side rows, videos for each can be found in the 'Abbreviations Explained' tab at the top of this page. It is a good idea to do the decreases one or two stitches in from the edges because it makes things easier for seaming. So, for example, you could knit the first stitch of a right side row, then K2tog, knit until 3 stitches remain, K2tog, then knit the last stitch.

Now, the....and 5 foll alt rows. That just means every other row, 5 times. So if the 7 rows that you just worked were rows 1-7, after that you will decrease 1 stitch at the end of rows 9, 11, 13, 15, 17. And the ( 68 ) in brackets means that after all those decrease rows you should be left with 68 stitches.

Hope this helps!

knitqueen

09-05-2006 10:41 PM

I forgot about the.... continue without shaping until piece measure 20cm part. This just means that after you finish those decrease rows, you will continue on in stockinette stitch (knit the right side rows, purl the wrong side rows) with NO more decreases, until the piece measure 20cm from beginning of armhole shaping, which is 7.87" (thanks to an on-line calculator!! :teehee: ). You will end with a WS row, meaning you will end having just completed a purl row.

sjr

09-06-2006 06:51 AM

Lost in beginning of pattern

I haven't even started yet! I guess I don't have the right length needles, so I'll drive to the knitting store later in the week and buy some. I am too chicken to use circular and knit flat with them...and I don't have long enough circular ones anyhow! I am afraid that if I used circular, I would make a mistake and have to rip out everything, and probably get totally confused about whether I was on a row that starting with knit or purl ( yes, I am really at that stage! Why am I thinking I can knit a sweater?) Thanks for the help! Sally